Street Improvements

The Town of Estes Park maintains around 59 centerline miles of paved streets. A successful pavement management program utilizes a variety of techniques that not only repairs pavement surfaces that have deteriorated, but more importantly maintains road way segments that are in good condition. Public Works now manages the street network of Estes Park with a computer-based program called PAVER™. This Windows-based program is a powerful tool in managing our pavements. A pavement management system uses engineering technology to determine when, where, and how to best maintain roadways. It provides the needed leverage to preserve the infrastructure investment. PAVER™ assists the Engineering Division in organizing, planning and budgeting for pavement maintenance. It offers prediction modeling and analysis for long term future control of all pavement management aspects.

07.03.17 Chip Seal Program Update

A-1 Chipseal will begin their chip seal program, Thursday, July 6. This is expected to take approximately three days.

Additional information is available at the MacGregor Avenue webpage linked above.

Crack Seal

A contractor for the Town of Estes Park starts a town-wide crack-sealing project today. The work consists of applying hot asphalt sealant to cracks in Town streets, effectively preventing water from penetrating the roadways and reducing potholes. Funds permitting, the treatment will be applied to all Town-owned asphalt streets not crack sealed last year. The project is scheduled for completion by May 26, weather permitting. The project is not expected to cause any street closures, though moving lane closures and flagging will be necessary. Motorists should drive with caution.

Roads scheduled for chip seal the week of May 1 are streets shown in red below, as well as streets shown in the box marked PAGE 1. Updates will be provided weekly with the general plan being to go in order Page 1 through Page 3.

Overlay and Patching

A contractor for the Town of Estes Park will begin paving multiple roads in Estes Park beginning May 15, weather permitting. This work consists of overlaying or removing the existing asphalt and replacing it with a new asphalt surface, depending on the condition of the existing pavement. The contractor will patch large sections of additional roads in Town. Roads designated for paving are Raven Avenue, Big Horn Drive, and East Riverside Drive. Roads designated for patching are Aspen Avenue, Heinz Parkway, High Drive, Lexington Lane Pawnee Lane and Pine Knoll Drive. If funding allows, additional work may be performed.

The contractor, The Perfect Patch Asphalt Company, may perform sawcutting on proposed patches the week of May 8 in advance of full scale operations. The map below shows the sections of road to receive overlays. E. Riverside Drive will be receiving a thin overlay in anticipation of more extensive work in the coming years.

PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT

Pavement Management Plan

2017 Pavement Management Plan

At the February 14th Town Board study session, Public Works presented the 2017 Street Improvement Program. This program was developed with the assistance of a piece of software called PAVER which uses a variety of tools to help decide the best treatments for each road at the right time. By utilizing a blend of preventative maintenance (crack sealing, pothole patching, seal coats) and structural work (overlay, mill and overlay, reconstruction), Public Works intends to reverse the downward trend of our road conditions.

2024 Pavement Management Plan

At the February 23rd Town Board study session, Public Works presented the 2024 Street Improvement Program. This program was developed with the assistance of a piece of software called PAVER which uses a variety of tools to help decide the best treatments for each road at the right time. By utilizing a blend of preventative maintenance (crack sealing, pothole patching, seal coats) and structural work (overlay, mill and overlay, reconstruction), Public Works intends to reverse the downward trend of our road conditions. The charts below show the budget distribution of the 1A tax dollars in this program, and how the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) of Estes Parks roads will increase from a value of 65 in 2016 to a value of 73 2024.

Preventative maintenance is a huge part of the 2024 STIP plan and is defined as a planned strategy of cost-effective treatments to an existing roadway system and its appurtenances that preserves the system, retards future deterioration, and maintains or improves the functional condition of the system (without significantly increasing the structural capacity). Preventative maintenance keeps good roads in good shape and, as the table below indicates, keeps costs form maintenance down.

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Maintenance and Repair

Maintenance and Repair

Water is the most destructive element to our pavements, and most of the treatments and techniques utilized are designed to address this issue. Cracks in pavements allow moisture to penetrate the surface which causes pavement material failure. Failure to seal cracks results in further cracking, potholes and eventually a major pavement breakdown, leading to unnecessary expensive repairs. Below, are some of the treatments and techniques that Public Works uses to treat our roads. For information on pothole repair, visit our Pothole Patching Page.

Crack Sealing
Cracks are sealed with a hot polymer/rubberized liquid asphalt to minimize water infiltrating the pavement base. Crack sealing is an extremely economical way of maintaining pavements. It is very cheap and effective when compared to undertaking other more extensive work such as resurfacing and reconstruction.

Chip Seal
Chip sealing is the application of crushed aggregate or gravel (chips) over an emulsified asphaltic oil. The oil seals the street from water penetration while the chips provide a wearing surface for traffic. Chip sealing is a preventive maintenance treatment that rejuvenates old asphalt and creates a new riding surface.

Slurry Seal
Slurry sealing is the application of emulsified asphalt (a mixture made from oil and fine sand aggregate) to an existing pavement. This treatment also seals the street from water penetration. Slurry sealing is a preventive maintenance treatment that extends the life of pavement while providing a smooth new riding surface.

Asphalt Overlay
An asphalt overlay generally consists of placing a new layer of asphalt pavement material over and existing pavement. Preparatory work such as asphalt patching, edge milling and utility adjustments should be completed prior to any overlay work. Overlays are less expensive than complete street reconstruction and result in smoother and stronger pavement.